An Interesting Mix.

There is a line of pop culture thought that says the Baby Boomers are a generation of narcissists and that Gen X is full of nihilist.

So what happens when you combine the two? What about those rare few born on the border, who embody aspects of both generations? Well, Bret Easton Ellis wrote a book on the topic.

Additionally, with a 1961 birth, the President falls into that transitional category. Which begs the question...Is Patrick Bateman that much different than Barack Obama?

Tuesday Preview.

Tuesday will be the biggest primary election day of the year thus far. Arkansas, Pennyslvania and Kentucky all have Senate primary contests:

In Arkansas, Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln will defend her seat against a leftist primary challenger, Bill Halter. Also in Arkansas, Republican Congressman John Boozman is set to finish off some light competition for his party’s Senate nomination. Lincoln's seat looks likes a likely turnover in favor of the Republicans in the fall, regardless of the results on Tuesday.

In Pennyslvania, Republican-turned-Democrat Senator Arlen Specter will defend his seat in a primary against Congressman Joe Sestak, who had planned to run for the seat before Specter’s party switch. Notably, Specter is the only Senator to have been endorsed by both President Bush and Obama (in different elections.) Former Congressman Pat Toomey is the lone Republican running for Specter's seat and he also had planned to challenge Specter (...in the Republican primary) before the party switch.

In Kentucky, doctor Rand Paul looks to finish off his upset of early establishment favorite Trey Grayson. Also in Kentucky, two Democrats are in a tight contest for the right to be in the Senate general election, which the Republicans seem certain to win.

But the most notable race on Tuesday is a "general-special-election" House race in Western Pennyslvania. There is a tight contest going to fill the seat vacated by the late John Murtha. Should the Democrats lose this deep-blue-union-country seat, it will be a sign of things to come this fall. If the Democrats can not hold Pennyslvania’s 12th District, very few places will be safe for them in November.

It Is Liberalism, Stupid.

In the past week, Republican Senator Bob Bennett of Utah and Democratic Representative Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, both of whom have served in Congress for decades, lost in their respective primaries. The prevailing media interpretation thus far has been that 2010 will be an "anti-incumbent" year. This is dead wrong.

Let us look at these two races.

In Utah:

What riled Utah Republicans against Bob Bennett? One complaint was that he sponsored a health-care bill with Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden to eliminate the tax preference for employer-provided health insurance and subsidize premiums... ...More important, apparently, was Mr. Bennett's vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in September 2008. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703339304575240953424385446.html

In West Virginia:

It's unusual for Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.) to face opposition from a fellow Democrat. And the rare primary Mollohan is facing this year in the northern 1st district is atypical in that state Sen. Mike Oliverio is challenging him from the right and not the left.

Oliverio is running on a platform that focuses heavily on the need to reduce the large federal debt -- not exactly a burning issue in Democratic primaries. He opposed increasing the federal debt limit, criticized the 2009 stimulus law that Mollohan and nearly every other Democrat supported, and also has some problems with the new health care law. Oliverio also opposes abortion, gun control and a "cap and trade" system to limit greenhouse gas emissions. http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20100330/pl_cq_politics/politics3634654

Both of these men lost to their right: Bennett largely because of his support for specific left leaning legislation and Mollohan because of an overall challenge from the right.

When moderate or liberal challengers start beating conservative incumbents, then we can call this an anti-incumbent year. Until then, this is a conservative year.

Unmanned Systems For An Unsafe World, Part Two.

Back in March we spotlighted a series of ads for unmanned military drones in the Capitol South Metro station. We could not really pin point it (perhaps it was somehow related to the uncanny valley) but there was something off-putting about the thought of unmanned killer drones. It turns out that unmanned fighting drones are not only being used by the military, but by the CIA as well. And the CIA has been authorized to kill American citizens with them:

The Obama administration’s decision to authorize the killing by the Central Intelligence Agency of a terrorism suspect who is an American citizen has set off a debate over the legal and political limits of drone missile strikes, a mainstay of the campaign against terrorism.

The notion that the government can, in effect, execute one of its own citizens far from a combat zone, with no judicial process and based on secret intelligence, makes some legal authorities deeply uneasy. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/world/14awlaki.html?hp

Legislative Update: Funny Does Not Always Equal Bad.

At first glance, the federal “Potty Parity Act” seems like the result of an out of control nanny-state at its worst. No doubt that is why Matt Drudge recently spotlighted it. The bill is designed to alleviate inequalities between the number of men’s and women’s restrooms. However, it only does so in federal buildings. For all of the ranting that this blog and fellow conservatives do about our over-reaching federal government, maintenance of their own buildings is perfectly within their purview.

This bill may have a funny name, but assuming it is based upon a true and existing problem, it is a proper and constitutional use of federal power. Given that many federal buildings were designed in time periods when only men worked, there is a good chance that this is a legitimate issue.

Surprise, Surprise.

Last summer, three American hikers with connections to the San Fransisco progressive movement were detained by Iranian guards after naively deciding to take a stroll along Iran's border with Iraqi-Kurdistan. The three are still currently being held in Iran.

While we do not support this seemingly baseless detention (even if the hikers are crunchy Mother Jones contributors), we could not help but laugh at the following line from a story about the three in this month's Outside Magazine:

"They were polite, no trouble; they didn't even ask to take a shower," said Muzafad Mohammed Zeli, the proprietor... http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/201005/iran-hikers-arrested-iraq-kurdistan-4.html

A Warning To Republicans.

We have written before about the need for Republicans to aggressively campaign, draw distinctions between themselves and Democrats, and show that they are a true alternative to Obama, Pelosi, Reid, et al.

Across the pond, the right-of-center Tories have ignored this advice and instead have taken a series of moderate, "third way" stances. It is now costing them. Despite strong anti-Labour sentiment in most polls, the Tories have possibly failed to secure their place in government:

After three days of hard bargaining with Nick Clegg, the obstacles in his path were being cleared one by one and negotiations with the Liberal Democrats appeared to be entering their final phase. But while Mr Cameron was looking the other way, Gordon Brown and Mr Clegg had made a secret agreement that could deny the Tory leader the ultimate prize. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/david-cameron/7707890/How-David-Cameron-was-outflanked-as-he-prepared-to-enter-No-10.html